When the Tide Comes In
by papayabelly
Summary: Away on a tropical island for a so-called mission, Tenten encounters someone who makes her want to swim headfirst into perilous waters. [Kisame and Tenten] [Alternate Timeline]
1. Chapter 1

Wanted to write more after my last astrology-inspired Tenten x Kisame fic.

 **TW: sexual situations, teacher-student affections**

* * *

When the Tide Comes In

* * *

|Flushing|

"I'm peeling. I'm peeling."

Flakes of dead skin snowed onto the end of Tenten's bunk. Face contorting in repulsion, she jabbed the the mattress above her with her fist.

"What the hell, Ino?" she griped. "Can't you do that in the bathroom?"

"I'm trying to aim for the trash can."

"Well you're missing. By a lot," Tenten said as she watched more shavings land on her comforter. "Ugh, _gross_."

"Hey, lay off! It's not my fault my usually flawless and supple skin is so sensitive!"

"I told you to wear sunscreen," she replied, remembering how just a couple days ago her vivacious blonde friend had been a luscious apricot bronze. Now she looked like a scarlet reptilian beast.

"Omigosh, _rude!_ "

"Sorry." Tenten hadn't realized she had spoken the last part aloud. Island time made a girl get hazy. The "mission" Lady Tsunade had assigned them was on a remote island in Sea Country, and consisted of the two ninja overseeing a construction job funded by some Konoha bigwigs. Tenten might have put her best effort into anything requested of her, but this task was honestly something she could have done with her eyes closed, and she figured that had been the point; i.e., the mission was really just an all-expense paid tropical leave courtesy of their Hokage. Of whom, she believed, must have been feeling unusually gracious upon tasking it to her and Ino. Tenten figured that she had amassed some good karma for the stars to shine down so kindly unto her. A week of refreshing salt breeze, beach aerobics, and organic papaya-mango cleanses had her feeling detoxed and down for anything. She was totally rejuvenated and game to run five marathons alongside her sensei when she got back to Leaf. She tapped her chin. Okay, maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration -but she did feel amazing. Unlike her poor, unfortunate, molting roommate.

"Are you going to stay in bed? You haven't left the room since morning, and the sun is going to set soon," Tenten said.

"Uh, yeah?" answered Ino as if it were elementary. "I can't go out like this!"

"I was just joking about the reptilian thing," she soothed. "it's really not that noticeable at all. And I think some fresh air would do you good."

Tenten heard a sharp intake of breath from above, followed by some shuffling and creak of the metal bedframe. She saw strands of flaxen hair dangle over the edge of the top bunk. Slowly, Ino's face descended into view, and boy, was it a…view. Tenten winced.

" _This_ is unnoticeable to you?"

Yeah, the reptilian thing was totally inaccurate. It looked more like a baboon's ass had exploded. However, this time Tenten kept her thoughts to herself.

"I mean, you could wear sunglasses…and a headscarf…"

"Oh, what's the point," bewailed Ino, thrusting her head back over the top. "of being out in public if guys won't be able to see my gorgeous face and tell me I'm pretty."

She knew Ino was only partially serious, but Tenten was saddened by her friend's miserable tone. They had been having so much fun over the past few days, and it was a shame that their mission-slash-surprise-vacay would have to end on such a dispiriting note. Though, she considered, there were two days left. Maybe Ino's face would heal faster if she got her morale up?

"I think a nice evening beach stroll would put you in a better mood," suggested Tenten. "we can go to a more secluded side of the island where there's not as many people."

"No."

"I'll buy you a Mai-Tai."

"No."

"Two Mai-Tai's?"

"No!"

She sighed. Clearly, the girl was inconsolable. Tenten had stayed cooped up with her for nearly the whole day, and it had made her stir crazy. She wasn't like Ino. She needed to feel the earth under her feet and the expanse of the sky overhead, and she needed to be active. It didn't feel right to just sulk all day doing nothing but be lazy, even on vacation. Tenten blamed that mentality on her robust sensei. The image of his face strong in her mind for a split second, with its prominent features, sturdy lines and edges and blinding smile, caused Tenten's chest to tighten.

"Okay. Do what you like," she said. "I'm going to head out for a bit."

"Oh, am I putting your _equilibrium_ off balance, or whatever?" scathed Ino.

Tenten swung her legs to the side and got up from the bed. Looking up at her miserable friend with teeth gleaming in a manner that would have made her ex-sensei proud, she replied jovially, "No, no. Of course not." Yes. Absolutely. Tenten's aura was becoming dimmer with each passing second and would continue to do so unless she got the hell out of there.

"I just," she continued. "want to check on how the construction has progressed for today."

"Whatever."

"It'll get better in no time," she assured, grabbing her knapsack and slipping her sandals on, "and even if it doesn't, you're still the hottest girl I know."

Ino didn't respond nor falter in sour expression, even though she knew Tenten was being honest. Damn that girl's constant positivity. It was actually kind of working.

"See ya later," Tenten said, exiting the room.

.:.

Kisame sipped his beer as he stared into the coalescing pinks and oranges of the sunset. Business had been slow today, but he had only recently relocated to the northern side of the island. Perhaps it would pick up in the next few days, and if it didn't, he knew he had many other ways to acquire money, albeit they were much less beneficial to the general populace. This had been a relaxing break in routine, but he knew his time was limited. Being a wanted felon, it always was. With a bitter gulp, he mused on why he couldn't have been a different type of criminal. Why couldn't he have been a drug dealer, sitting in a Jacuzzi full of filthy gold and silver coins on a yacht full of bikini-clad women? He sneered to himself. What idiocy. Kisame chastised his brain for being prey to the hypnotic rustle of palm leaves and faint acoustic guitar melody in the distance. He answered his own question: he could never be that type of criminal because he wasn't a shallow, weak-minded man able to be satisfied by such pointless conceits. For his one and only lifetime spent in a world polluted with falsehoods—because he didn't believe in rebirth or reincarnation or any of that trash—he was content to continue serving his assigned purpose until death, as he had deemed it a worthy purpose.

He took a long swig, finishing off the bottle. Still, he was pleased to adopt a casual alter-ego on his off time. It wasn't so debasing, right? It felt nice, being out there on the beach everyday, kicking back under a large straw umbrella he had woven himself, next to a sign that read–

"Cheap Surf Lessons?"

Kisame had impassively watched the corpulent teenager with bad tan lines approach. He stood in front of the relaxed man, pointing to his sign with an eager face. Without any consideration at all, Kisame said, "It's just a prop. Boards in the back are as well."

The boy's brow knitted together. "Huh?"

"I'm not an instructor. These are just for decoration." Sure, he lied. So what? He wasn't going to put up with that nasally voice for an entire teaching session. Bitch, he was self-employed—he could do what he wanted.

"Oh," he replied, expression crumbling. "I really wanted to learn surfing so I could impress this girl I met."

Kisame lodged the empty beer bottle in the small sand dune at his feet. Looking back up at the wishful customer with marginally more sympathy, he reclined back in his chair and cushioned the back of his head against folded hands.

"Listen kid," he said. "Do you really wanna learn how to surf?"

The boy held his head low. "Not really. I just thought she'd think I was cool if I knew how. It's dumb, I know…"

He shut his eyes to the ensuing pity-party. Taking a deep breath, he felt like he could spare some kindness on this single dweeb, since he didn't do it very often for anyone.

"It's a waste of time to try and be a different person for someone," Kisame advised. "we already live among so many lies. Just be yourself. And if she isn't impressed with that much, forget her. The affection of women is ultimately frivol—"

"Damn, she's so hot!"

He frowned. How dare this ungrateful dolt interrupt him? Kisame was imparting some priceless wisdom unto his worthless existence; the least he could do was let him finish. So disrespectful. Grumbling, Kisame opened his eyes to see the teen looking away, completely mesmerized. He followed his line of sight and nearly jerked forward. Pushing his sunglasses up, Kisame took in the sight of a long-legged brunette stretching her left hamstring. Her profile was strong and diamond-jawed with a button nose, and her black bikini bottom was skin-tight on her ass. It was a tiny, spandex-y scrap of fabric with athletic stripes down the hips, and it hugged her sculpted glutes like a dream.

" _That's_ the girl you like?" he asked.

The guy shook his head, mouth still agape. "Nah, she's way sexier than the girl I was talking about."

"Hey you!" some other, less attractive girl called over to her.

She tilted her face upwards and said in a high-pitched voice, "Yeah?"

"We're down a right side hitter for volleyball—interested?"

"Oh, sure!" she answered in bubbly sing-song. Straightening her posture, Kisame watched as she jogged away.

"I have to watch this!" declared the boy, who had started to sweat with perverted anticipation. Kisame wanted to ridicule his repulsive adolescent fervor, despite the fact that he was getting up to do the exact same thing. Flipping his sign around to the "BACK IN 5" side, he pushed the kid aside and started hurrying over to the bleachers a few yards from his spot.


	2. Chapter 2

|Big|

From the looks of the Fire symbol on the back of her reddish-orange tank, which was knotted at the hem to reveal her washboard abdomen, the girl had come a long way from home. Regardless of the country emblem, he would have doubted she was a local, since her energetic nature made her stick out from the rest of the chill island-goers. He watched her leap into the air, spiking the ball with a ferocity that belied her cheery exterior. The downward kick sent the multicolored-orb straight past an opposing player and into the ground like a meteor. Kisame saw her land on the top of the net like it was a tightrope, supporting her balance with one arm. Her teammates cheered as she bounded off, back-flipping onto the sand. The score was 8-0.

"Hey, it's not fair that you have that circus-freak on your side, Nori!" barked the ginger, hazel-eyed girl who had missed the ball. Hmm, thought Kisame, perhaps they were not so chill after all.

The one called Nori, a haughty dirty-blonde and the team captain, just waved a dismissive hand in her direction. "Don't be such a sore loser, Reika. It's not my fault your team sucks."

Reika clenched her fists, lowering into a ready position, muttering, "We haven't lost yet, bitch."

Tenten pitied their poor sportsmanship. She thought it was a such a shame for friends to trash-talk each other over a bit of fun competition. Kisame, on the other hand, was thoroughly entertained.

"By the way, stupid," Nori said. "she's not from the circus. She's a ninja from the Hidden Leaf here on super important business. You should show a little more courtesy!"

"Like I care. If her business is so important, she should go tend to it instead of playing volleyball!" derided Reiko, serving the ball. The game resumed, with Tenten's team securing point after point, except for one that she let the other side have out of nicety. It wasn't like her to go easy on anyone, but she did sort of have an unfair advantage. In the stands, Kisame observed her fierce but elegant style of play. She had a rare quality about her: a simple, healthy, and impartial love for battle. Granted, a game of volleyball wasn't a battle, but he could tell the dexterity she used to execute a smooth set or pass was the same kind she used to perform a jutsu. Compared to what he'd been exposed to, or what he could do himself, he was sure the resulting jutsu would be no more impressive than a cute party trick, but it would certainly be executed with textbook perfection.

"We won! We won!" Nori exulted, jumping up and chest-bumping their spirited MVP while the other team bemoaned their loss. "Awesome job...um, what's your name again?"

Their star athlete dusted some sand off a tawny shoulder and grinned as her fellow victors crowded around her. "It's Tenten."

"Well Tenten, you have to be the most amazing volleyball player I've ever seen!" said Nori.

She modestly clasped her hands behind her back. "D'aww, I guess I'm okay."

"You've got sand on your bikini," a petite raven-haired girl pointed out.

Turning her head to try to look down at her backside, Tenten inquired, "Really?"

"Don't worry, I'll get it for you!" The girl leaned over and brushed off her taut, round right-cheek.

"Thank you!" chirped Tenten.

"Got most of it—just shake off the rest."

She wriggled her hips and adjusted her bikini bottom, stretching it slightly and letting it go. It clung back on with a delectable slap.

"All gone?"

"Yep!" said the girl, giving a thumbs-up.

"Hey, we're all going to go into town for a drink to celebrate," said Nori. "Wanna come?"

Pausing, Tenten mulled over the offer. The captain and her friends seemed really nice, and the match had been enjoyable, but now that it was over she was plagued with a lingering guilt. Ino was likely still holed up in their room, and it would feel weird going to have drinks with a bunch of random girls she had just met. She wasn't really into drinking with people she didn't know well, no matter how friendly they were.

"Um, I'm kind of tired," she replied. "You girls are great, but I think I'm going to head back and take a shower."

Shrugging, Nori merely said "suit yourself" before they all began walking away, waving their goodbyes. Tenten walked over to the lowest rung of bleachers, where her knapsack had been resting on the end. She was in the middle of digging through the bag for her sandals when a low drawl addressed her—"Nice game."

Her eyes flitted upwards into a smirking blue visage of high-cheekbones and a mouthful of appallingly jagged teeth. Visibly unfazed by the man's appearance, she formed the tiniest smile and nodded her thanks.

"I can see that you're pretty athletic," he remarked. "Wanna learn how to surf?"

Features unreceptive, she shook her head primly and said "I don't think so."

"Why not?" he asked. "Think you'll drown?"

Tenten gave him a steely glare. "No, I'm just not interested."

He laughed lightly. "Fine then. You probably don't have the balance for it anyway."

That made her drop her sandal back to the bottom of the bag, almost scoffing. He was joking, right?

"You just watched me dominate that other team," she said, despite herself. "and you have the gall to call me unbalanced?"

"Balancing on a surfboard is waaay harder than all that prancing you just did."

 _Prancing?_

She fastened the knapsack closed and tossed a russet braid over her shoulder. "Probably not."

"Why don't you find out then?" he tempted. "I'll give you your first lesson free of charge."

Tenten assessed his physique. He was tall and muscular…downright beefy, actually. His biceps looked huge in the dark blue sleeveless kinagashi top he wore, tied loosely at the waist with a sash, the neckline a deep V which showed off the chiseled dell between his firm pectorals. She chewed on the inside of her lip. Hadn't she just been about to return to her sunburnt friend? There was no way she was going go splash around with this bizarrely handsome stranger, was there?

"Don't be scared," he said. "I'll start you out on a kiddie board."

She scowled. "You don't need to baby me. I'm not scared."

There was a way indeed, and he had just used it. Tenten couldn't let him get away with mocking her like that—she needed to take him down a peg. Not doing so would, like, go against the laws of feminism, Ino! Arguing with the imaginary version of her friend in her mind (while unbeknownst to her, the real one was snoring loudly in Tenten's now disheveled bunk back at the hotel), Tenten slowly crossed her arms and renewed her resolve.

"Prove it then," Kisame said, enjoying picking at her tough-girl pride.

"You're on."

She slung her knapsack over her shoulder and stomped away in determination. Kisame wondered where she was going in such zeal, since he hadn't told her where he was stationed. Catching up to her with a few long strides, he wondered if he should fib and tell her she still had sand on her bikini. Deciding against it, he chose a different subject matter.

"Guess you can't walk away from a challenge," he remarked.

"Hmph," she said, turning her nose. "I just like proving arrogant macho-guys wrong."

"You think I'm macho?" he teased. "I haven't even tried to flex for you yet."

"Don't bother," she said, trying not to envision the gesture. "I've seen kangaroos with bigger guns."

He chuckled. "I think you're my favorite student so far."

Kisame led her to his umbrella. Tenten saw four waxed surfboards standing tall in the dunes next to it, the largest of them was wrapped in bandages and looked, very briefly, like it was breathing. With little deliberation, she zeroed in on a salmon-colored one.

"I want that one," she said.

"Sure you don't want to try out a foam fish board instead?" he asked.

"I'm sure," she said, tossing her bag and taking off her shirt to join it on the ground. Kisame didn't bother trying to explain to Tenten that the proper thing to do was match the most suitable board to a beginner according to their size and weight; he just let her grab the pinkish fiberglass one out of the sand. Luckily, it was one of the glow-in-the-dark boards adequate for night surfing. Whipping around with it hanging under her arm, she stared at him expectantly. He admired Tenten in her sporty crimson halter top before saying, "An eager pupil, I see."

They began slowly, first on the ground. Aligning herself straight down the middle of the board, he had her practice paddling. It felt ridiculous, but they thankfully didn't spend too much time on it and soon she was practicing "popping off" on a wave, or learning to rapidly stand up on the board. She saw that, surprisingly, he seemed to be putting a genuine, professional effort into teaching her, even at the very basics. He wasn't too handsy. In fact, his touch on her was minimal, and his verbal directions were clear and many: "Keep your knees bent. Extend and loosen your arms. Make sure your feet are planted on the board. Lean your torso forward to lower your center of gravity." It was so sharp and clinical, and he hadn't called her "sweetie" once.

Finally, they entered the warm water, and by then she had cooled off a little mentally. She was genuinely looking forward to riding a wave, and not just to show him she could do it easily. However, she tensed when she felt his large, rough palm on the small of her back.

"Easy, tiger," he said. "let's stay in flat water for now so you can practice negotiating the ocean."

Without knowing it, she had been moving a bit too far out in all her anxiousness. Tenten pouted when he pulled her back with his strong arms, and she was weightless as she glided towards his emanating heat. He instructed her to get onto the board, and she followed his order, laying on it so that the front tip dunked below the water.

"You're too far forward," he said. "you don't want to be too forward, or you'll nosedive—"

He gripped the deck from underneath and pushed it down slightly, making her reflexively pull her chin up as most of the board submerged. "—like this."

A grip on her calf made her heart race, but she maintained her composure as she leveled herself out again.

"Align the middle of your chest with the stringer—that's the line going down the center of the board," he said. She did as he was told, feeling him squeeze her harder to make sure she didn't slip. His overprotective behavior irked her. Did he think she was going to drown in shallow water?

"First test of balance," said Kisame, letting go abruptly. She immediately began tipping to her right. Hastily, she corrected her alignment so that she didn't fall. Throwing him a triumphant glance, she asked, "Are we done with the easy stuff? I wanna rip."

"Patience, trainee," he said playfully. "we need to go over something very integral before that." She felt his hold once more, this time on her upper back.

"Hurry up, this is getting boring," she said, trying to act blasé.

"Seriously, this is something people get wrong because they don't spend enough time trying to do it properly," he said. "it's paddling."

"Ugh."

"Okay, cup your hands," commanded Kisame. "you want to use big, long strokes. Don't go too deep…"

She winded her arms, going too fast at first before he gently but firmly guided her into a more gradual pace. Tenten initially thought it to be patronizing, but one look his way showed her that he was very concentrated on her getting this right.

"Yes," he commented, sounding pleased. "as your arm passes through, you want to make sure the water only goes up to your elbows. Make sure your chest is slightly raised and pointed out, and your feet are together, making everything nice and tight through the core. Good, just like that."

Fortunately for her, he couldn't see how flushed she was during twilight.

"You…sound like you've been giving lessons for a while," she muttered, inwardly cursing her uncertain tone. It wasn't typical of her at all.

"Yeah, it's a nice side job."

"What's your main job?"

"Nothing too interesting, trust me," he said. "are you ready to rip?"

"Born ready, sensei." She gave him a cheeky wink. Raising an eyebrow, he thrust her forward and let go.

"Paddle away," he said. "and try to catch the incoming white water."

The ocean was more demanding than Tenten had expected. Riding the waves after they had broken into foam was trickier on a nearly full moon, when they crashed more violently and produced larger, more chaotic amounts of spume. She hid her struggle with the elements well, and after three tries, she had gotten the hang of the low-level move. Kisame watched approvingly, though he had anticipated her to take to the exercise with a natural talent. She was a ninja, after all, not some awkward and clumsy lump of a boy. Momentarily, he wondered if the teenager had successfully managed to woo the object of his affections with his personality alone. Unlikely, but Kisame liked to think that his seldom-given advice paid off; then a languid, entrancing stretch from Tenten dispelled any idle thoughts. She held her upper arm as it elongated towards the stars, pushing her chest forward as she yawned and straddled her board.

"Mmm, I could do this in my sleep," she called to him. "bring on the next challenge, _sensei._ "

The way she purred the title out this time was more flirtatious than the first. He bore his teeth in a wily grin.

"All right then," he said. "See that monster heading towards us?"

Tenten turned to gaze at the colossal wave in question rolling closer. Was he really suggesting that she go for that behemoth when she hadn't even mastered a simple crumbly wave yet? No responsible instructor would encourage a civilian to do something so dangerous. He had to have been egging her to use some ninja flair to assist her in pulling off the feat. Well, she thought, there wasn't any way she was backing down from that. Tenten looked back at Kisame with an expression void of any fear.

"Yeah?"

"Think you can make it your bitch?"

Oh, hell yes. Flipping a braid again, she said "Watch me."

Laying back down onto the deck, she paddled away confidently. Kisame watched her svelte form buoy along the rowdier waters. There was no way an ordinary beginner could tame a wave like that, but she was not ordinary. He was all for posing dares to boisterous, headstrong Leaf ninja-types like her because he knew their pride would never permit them to say no, no matter how crazy or life-threatening the situation. Kisame wanted to see what this girl was made of—he wasn't here to host granny surf camp and the difficulty of the lesson was at his complete and total jurisdiction. It's not like he was a licensed instructor anyway, and she _had_ told him that she didn't need any babying. Besides, if anything really bad happened, he could just swoop in and rescue her without breaking a sweat.

The already giant wave soon met a twin, and their crests and troughs aligned. Their combined energy created an even larger, more frighteningly powerful wave. Faaantastic, thought Tenten. She took a deep breath as she rode in tune with the rhythm of the water, taking a deep breath before popping up and concentrating her chakra into her feet. She remembered Gai-sensei and all the grueling acrobatics training she had endured under him. Tenten was the most limber of her team, she had the best balance, the best poise, and was even the best swimmer. She had sealed an entire ocean into a scroll before, so how hard could this be? Her stomach fluttered as she began to soar along the hollow. It was exhilarating, almost weirdly like actual flying, but different? She had never really felt this sort of rush. She was doing it!

From afar, Kisame's smile widened as he shook his head.


	3. Chapter 3

|Breaking|

Tenten might have not been ordinary, but she was still a beginner. When her eyes opened to blurry starlight, she could feel nothing but constriction in her torso. Rapidly swaying up in place, she hacked out a hefty amount of water. Becoming lightheaded right after, Tenten lethargically wiped dribble off the side of her jaw before pummeling back down into the sand, swearing the last thing she saw was the distorted, but vaguely amused face of her surfing instructor.

The next time she awoke, Kisame sensed it immediately and shifted his position on the worn tatami mat.

"Caught a gnarly one, didn't you?" he quipped. Tenten shakily hoisted herself upwards, resting her hands on the floor for support.

"W-what the hell?" she said, registering the sound of pounding rain. With two blinks, she was alert, though still exhausted. As her vision focused, her eyes trailed from the foot of the ratty futon she was lying in to the other side of the small, dimly lit room. Seeing the large blue man sitting cross-legged in front of a small writing desk at the other side, her expression became lethal.

"Hope you had a pleasant nap."

"What did you do to me?" she grilled. "Where am I?"

"My place, obviously."

" _Your place?_ "

Stare darting from left to right, she surveyed her bleak surroundings. The thin, queen-sized mattress and desk were the only furniture present. The walls were bare save for two hanging scrolls.

"You don't need to look so unimpressed."

Tenten's attention returned to Kisame, who was wearing a lazy smile, and then down to her knapsack sitting next to him. Feeling a rush of energy, she pushed herself forward and swiped it from his side in a lightning fast move, then ghosted to the other wall. He was unconcerned.

"Just don't, okay?" he said, leaning back onto his hands as he watched her pull out a small scroll. "It'd be a pretty poor way to thank the man who saved you from drowning."

Tenten's last waking images flashed through her mind. What was he talking about? She had been owning that wave. Tenten remembered riding it for a good ten seconds before it had begun to engulf her, but even when she plunged into the water, she hadn't panicked. With her strong limbs, she had swum against the bracing oceanic motions, with the heavy board leashed to the ankles. But…then—Tenten grimaced as the back of her head ached with the memory.

"I thought you were going to make it back to shore too," Kisame said, as if reading her thoughts. "who knew driftwood could be such a formidable enemy."

Embarrassed, Tenten swore under her breath.

"In any case," he continued, getting up to walk to the closet and sliding the door open. "I'm not going to try to harm you. Here…"

Pulling a large, clean t-shirt from the darkness, he held it out to her. Glaring down at the offering, Tenten made no indication that she would accept.

"I need to get back to the hotel," she informed.

"In this storm?"

"It's nothing," she disregarded the weather without a single look out the window, knowing that she had already withstood worse conditions in her lifetime. "I need to get back to my roommate."

"Your girlfriend?"

"Yes…" Tenten answered a little too quickly before taking notice of his slowly creeping grin. "wait, what?"

"I have to admire such devotion," he remarked with unnerving relish. "the poor thing is probably longing for your warm touch."

Fighting back the blush pooling underneath her skin, Tenten snapped in response: "We're not a couple."

"Not exclusive you mean?" he asked with a teasing hopefulness.

"Shut your mouth," she growled, snatching the shirt and momentarily discarding her bag. Tenten turned her back to him, knowing that he would think that she was letting her guard down, and unhooked her swimsuit top. The pressure of the drenched fabric on her chest had become so suffocating. Kisame didn't look away, seeing tan lines on smooth olive skin that glowed softly in the candlelight.

"You're not getting this back," she stated. "See you never."

It had seemed so meaningless to put the dry cotton tee on just to get it soaked, but Tenten hadn't done it for functionality. With her damp top put back into her knapsack, she sped through the torrential downfall and half-wished to never see those frightening teeth again. He watched her from the front door she had left open, unable to extinguish the yearning in his gut.

.:.

"I can NOT believe you just left!" Ino said, incredulous at Tenten's complete disregard for nabbing hot surf-instructor ass. As they arrived at the restaurant for brunch, she had finished up her description of the preceding night's events. She had been too exhausted to explain when she got back to the inn seven hours ago, and Ino had only partially awakened when she entered their room.

"Your face has really improved since yesterday," Tenten replied in a weak attempt to sway the conversation.

"Please, you can hardly see my face," Ino said in muffled tone, pushing her large purple shades up the bridge of her nose and tightening the veil around her head and mouth.

"You look kind of like Kakashi-sensei."

"Just get back to the story."

"The story's over, Ino," her friend sighed as they settled into a booth.

"Well it needs another chapter," replied Ino. "you need to see him again."

"Ha," Tenten said, opening the menu. "no."

"Tenten!"

"What?"

They started a repartee about each other's more irritating traits, Tenten's apparent lack of interest in getting laid and Ino's overt thirst for dick, and were interrupted by an uncomfortable looking waiter.

"Oh, finally," Ino said, not showing a smidgen of shame over loudly discussing penis sizes only seconds before. "I'll have the spam and egg musubi and a strawberry-pineapple mimosa."

"Same, but gimme a chili-grapefruit margarita. And don't be afraid to go hard on the tequila," she added with a wink.

"She had a _rough_ night," Ino whispered at him, which earned her an unappreciative glare from the other woman.

"Um, yes, I'll put the order in and have your drinks right out," stammered the waiter before scurrying away.

"You always have to weird out the servers, don't you?"

"Duh," said Ino. "now, back to the issue of Mr. Tall Blue and Muscle-y…"

"There's no issue," Tenten said. "he was my one-time surfing teacher."

"That saved your dumb ass from becoming fish food."

"I could have handled myself," she defended. "he was kind of an ass anyway. Like, he thought he was so great… 'oh, look at me, I'm a big buff surf-instructor who's too cool to admit that a woman can actually learn how to surf…'"

"Come on, he just acted like that to flirt with you."

"'…oh, let me offer you one of my big comfy shirts like it's nothing," Tenten continued to parody him animatedly. "'after practically kidnapping you!'"

"He rescued you."

She crossed her arms stubbornly. "I don't care. I hate his type. He's so self-assured and thinks he's all mysterious with his secrets and laid-back façade and he…he…he's right outside."

" _What?_ " Ino's head whipped around towards the window, eyes widening when she saw the burly object of Tenten's annoyance. "Oh my gosh, it's him! Wow, he has such broad shoulders!"

"Ino. Don't."

Tenten's warning was futile. Ino had already begun waving merrily at Kisame, who had just walked away from an eel stand. He picked at the base of one of his razor-sharp incisors with a toothpick in one hand and held up his umbrella with the other. Today he had foregone the sleeveless look for a yukata-style shirt that was a pale, almost grayish periwinkle in color.

"Yes, he sees us!" Ino squealed while Tenten wanted to melt into the floorboards. Indeed, the shark-faced man had noticed her blonde friend's lively motioning and was now smirking back at them.

"Okay, he saw us. Now let him just walk away so we can enjoy this outing in pea—"

"He's coming over," Ino said. "you have to go out there and meet him."

"What? No!"

"Tenten, get your ass out there or I'll go and invite him in myself."

She slid her sunglasses down. By the threatening glint in her sky blue eyes, Tenten knew Ino wasn't playing. She gave her a dirty look and grabbed the umbrella at her feet. Groaning, Tenten got up from the table and began making her way to the door, frigidly telling the hostess "I'll just be a minute." Upon stepping out into the pouring rain, this time approaching Kisame instead of leaving him, Tenten clenched her jaw. The way he was smugly waiting just a couple feet away made her want to punch him.

"Well hello again," he greeted. "didn't know never would come so soon."

"I just came out here because my friend made me," said Tenten, glowering.

"Oh," said Kisame, glancing at Ino, who had pulled the veil down from her mouth to show that she was beaming widely, through the window and then back to the disgruntled kunoichi in front of him. "your _girl_ friend?"

"She's my friend, and she's a girl," said Tenten stiffly. "but I already told you it's not like that."

"Girlfriend, lover," drawled Kisame. "it's whatever you wanna call it."

"You're an ass."

"Mm," he said. "she's almost as cute as you. Looks like she's recovering from a sunburn though."

"She is. It was pretty bad." Tenten felt no qualms about telling the cruel truth just to get back at Ino, despite the fact that she couldn't hear what they were saying.

"Reminds me of a friend of mine," Kisame said. "he turns red as a lobster if he's exposed to the sun for too long. He's kind of a prettyboy, so it's funny when that happens."

"Fascinating."

"You look really nice by the way," he complimented. "but I think you looked even better in my shirt."

Kisame eyed her in the flouncy, pastel green gingham sundress. Tenten's low-hanging pigtail braids were looser than they had been when he first saw her.

"Whatever," said Tenten, avoiding his gaze and thinking about his crumpled, waterlogged shirt that she had thrown into the corner of her room.

"Your outfit doesn't look appropriate for such a dreary day, though."

"I dress with my mood on vacation, regardless of what it's like outside."

Stroking his chin, Kisame remembered how she had changed in front of him the evening before.

"So if you were in the Land of Frost, you'd wear a bikini just because it'd go with your mood?"

"I wouldn't vacation in the Land of Frost, moron," was her sassy reply.

He nodded, chuckling. "My mistake. So, you interested in lesson number two?"

Tenten loathed his smile. She disliked his smirk, but a genuine, optimistic smile, showing off all those teeth like serrated jewels, scared her more because she found it kind of irresistible.

"This rain might be a full-blown monsoon by tonight," she said. "and I'm not letting you save me again."

"I can respect that," said Kisame. "an indoor dinner then?"

Tenten felt her ears burn. They then perked at the sound of banging behind her. Turning, she saw Ino furiously mouthing "say yes." Huh, Tenten thought, I guess she _can_ hear us. Or rather, she just had a well tuned sensitivity to budding romances, if you could classify what was happening as such.

"I'm leaving tomorrow," she said with reluctance, looking back at him and making solid eye contact.

"I'll be departing from this island soon as well," he said. "our time is short. Life is short, really. We should do what we want."

Tucking a strand of her brown hair, reddened warmly from hours on the beach, behind her ear, Tenten spoke calmly: "I'll meet you on the south beach at eight, then. That's where you live, isn't it?"

"I'm flattered you remember."

.:.

Having rejected all of Ino's pushy recommendations to borrow one of her short, low-necked dresses, Tenten had opted to stay in the same comfortable frock for the date. The word "date" replayed in her mind, still sounding irksome. However, she had permitted Ino to paint her nails pink.

"You might think that guys don't notice this kind of stuff," she had said after glossing Tenten's pinky with topcoat. "and they don't."

"Right," Tenten had muttered. "so what's the point of this again?"

"Everything you do is to make yourself feel cute, sexy, and alluring. Whether it's showing off your tits, legs, or doing something as simple as painting your nails. If it makes you feel confident, then you've already got this thing in the bag."

Tenten had examined the bottle of nail lacquer in disinterest. "And painting my nails in the color 'sugar daddy' is supposed to make me feel confident?"

"Iunno. I hope so. Even if it doesn't, it's fun for me!"

It had made her feel confident, in fact. Not so much the nail polish itself but the act of one of her best friends doing something kind for her. Ino always liked to butt into people's love lives, and it could be quite annoying, but it was mostly endearing. It was her way of showing that she cared. Now, as Tenten bit her lip and gripped the ceramic ware in her hand while forming a barrier between her and Kisame's chest with the other, she wondered what Ino would tell her to do. Having such a low level of discretion towards dating, Tenten liked to rely on abstract concepts to guide these types of things on the rare occasions they occurred. The "stars," "planets," or most irritating one to her friends, "the universe," were the forces that dictated any romantic opportunities. She was assertive in battle, but passive with matters of the heart, thinking too much boldness could knock her equilibrium off, taint her aura, and result in a curse of bad relationships for all of eternity. Ino was the opposite: she was a go-getter, almost liked to force the gods of love to bend under her iron will. She pounced on any chance to land a beau, and Tenten imagined a tiny Ino hovering over her shoulder at the present moment, yapping in her ear—"Go for it! GO FOR IT!"

"I should go wash this," said Tenten curtly, getting up and walking to the barrel in the corner under the wall faucet. Sorry 'lil Ino, Tenten thought in her head.

"Just leave it there," Kisame said. "I'll wash everything later."

Tenten had been wrong. The rain had stopped for hours now, but she still preferred to stay inside. They had just finished supper. He had made them a simple but delicious meal of Hamachi poké, one bowl each. She placed her empty one in the bottom of the sizable wooden container, feeling like she wanted to start the sink and go against his order just so she could excuse herself longer. However, she just smoothed her dress out and rejoined him at the table. Kisame's beach home was small, combining sleeping, kitchen, and dining areas into one compact space. They had eaten next to each other rather than across from; Tenten had thought it was odd he wanted to be so near to her. She had instinctively held up her open palm in defense seconds ago, despite him making no attempt to touch her.

"It's bad luck for strangers to share a meal while sitting on the same side of a table," she said.

"You believe in bad luck?" he asked.

Tenten placed her hands in her lap. "To a point, yes."

"It might be bad luck," he said, and a chill ran up her spine. "or just plain dangerous."

Kisame took a sip of his tea while Tenten played with her skirt hem. Anxiety suffusing her fingertips, she balled them into a trembling fist.

"It's a full moon," she said, leaning towards him. He watched her movements in his periphery, downing the last of the now lukewarm liquid. Daringly, she pressed onto his knee, lips pursed and amber irises glimmering in sync with the candle flame.

"Ah," he said, placing the cup down. "yes it is."

"Being the way you are, you must feel lunar power in your veins," she surmised.

"Being the way I am?" he inquired.

Nodding, Tenten explained, "You're a fish. You go with the flow…and are most mobile when it's most powerful, and that's on a full moon."

He laughed at her. "My mobility is controlled by me and me alone. And I'm not a fish. I'm a man."

"Oh, I know," she said, putting a hand on his shoulder and whispering into his ear. "I didn't mean you're an actual fish. I meant that you're a Pisces."

Kisame put a hand on her back, enjoying their closeness but not facing her.

"Astrology is all fake," he said. "you can't be serious."

She drew away and pouted. "I am. And I meant that you're the most mobile, but not on account of your own will. You can be moved vast distances in any direction because of the moon. The moon in Pisces is not a very easy position—you're much more vulnerable to fate, like a fish going wherever the current takes it. You're passive."

The notion was beyond hilarious, but Kisame kept listening anyway, thinking it was rather stereotypical to deduce his sign simply from his appearance. She was right, but it was still insensitive.

"But you know," she said, and he could feel excitement quake through her slender form when she was allowed to turn his face in her direction. "the full moon is also a time to start anew. In the hum of all its energies, you can still have epiphanies about things that were only vague desires at new moon. The moon's waxing and waning is like the shortest hand on the cosmic clock. Sometimes the best way to stay attuned to the cosmic currents _is_ to go with the flow."

"I don't have any vague desires."

"I'm not talking about you," she said with a small coquettish smile. "I'm a Pisces too."

Her quivering lips met his still ones. The kiss was warm and cool, just like the ocean. He was cold to the touch, his flesh a rough pallor and the opposite of her hot, smooth skin flushed the shade of spiced sand. Kisame pulled her much smaller body atop his. Tenten's bare feet twisted against each other in delight, bringing her legs together in the shape of a mermaid's tail. He tried not to rake his hands against her too hard for fear of leaving scratches, but when he felt Tenten put her palms against his, Kisame could feel that these parts of her were not supple like the rest of her body. They were abrasive with callouses.

You'll be proud, Ino, she thought with a smirk.

"What are you grinning about?" he asked. She had pulled away, the tip of her nose barely touching his. Opening her eyes, she looked into his inhuman eyes, which were so veiny up close. He let her gingerly finger the gills underneath them and wiggle against his rigid form. He knew she was in her early twenties, but there was something so childlike about her. Kisame grabbed fistfuls of her dress, pulling it up slowly. Tenten looked unfazed, but he felt her heartbeat quicken. He thought that kunoichi or not, she was still female, overcome with girlish wonder, somebody's daughter…

Tenten grasped his wrist with a vice-grip and pried it off her, pinning it to the floor. She pulled a kunai out with her free hand and held it to his neck.

"What would your sensei think of you right now?" he asked.

Her cheeks reddened at the mention. What did he have to do with this? More importantly, how did he know him? He would show me approval, Tenten thought, I've been trained for this. Stabbing the weapon into Kisame, Tenten's body hit the floor as soon as soon as he melted away.

"A water clone," she said. She felt herself yanked up violently by the back strap of her dress. Spinning her around, Kisame thrust her into the wall and held her there. She was suspended, feet hanging above the floor, comely mouth agape with shock.

He squeezed Tenten's face. "I've decided to give you another free lesson, but it's not on surfing."

Kisame kissed her, absorbed her silliness about auras, moon phases, cosmic currents and all.


	4. Chapter 4

|Dead|

Epilogue

Gai's loveliest flower was too susceptible to the Yamanaka's dastardly influences. He was positive that rooming with Ino for that long had tainted her. Ever since she had gotten back from her mission in the Land of the Sea, Tenten had been acting very _un_ youthful. Well, he thought, perhaps that was incorrect. She was full of a different kind of youth, just not any kind he wanted a part of—or would admit aloud to wanting anyway. Clad in her tiny, curve-hugging ninja qipao, she leaned over his seated form to reach the boxed porcelain tea set from the high shelf.

"Surfing really pushed me to exercise my balance in a totally different way, Sensei," Tenten said as the kettle began to scream. Her teacher flinched, not at the sound but the way his former rookie student stuck her pert rear out when she turned the knob on the stove.

He cleared his throat. "I am glad you found time to acquire new skills. I assume the construction was completed without a hitch."

"Huh? Oh, yeah. The job was finished on schedule, even with the heavy rain."

Tenten poured the piping brew into a pair of teal cups embellished with copper-colored floral designs. Placing them on a tray, she walked back to the table Gai was sitting behind and offered him one.

"I tried to make it the way you like," she said. "but making the perfect tea and accompanying meal is much more exhausting than it looks. I feel more tired from this than my last sparring session."

He accepted it but did not drink any tea, choosing to instead put the steaming cup on the table. Tenten set the tray down as well.

Gai inhaled nervously. "Thank you, my caring and attentive blosso…"

He trailed off at the sight of her stretching, one hand holding her upper arm, which was elongated towards the ceiling. It wasn't anything he hadn't seen her do before, but the look in her eye was different this time. Unbeknownst to him, she had sported that look for a while; this was just the first time he was noticing it. With her bosom swelling outward, Gai was perceiving Tenten in new shapes he wanted to un-see, simply because they made him feel nothing but pure shame. He looked down at his plate of sausage-fried rice.

"Good thing that mission was so refreshing and invigorating," Tenten said, sauntering towards him and causing him to swallow hard. "I even considered running a few hundred laps around Konoha with you when I got back. It's so awful that you were injured while I was gone."

Before he knew it, she was hugging him in his wheelchair. His body tensed and he clutched her naked shoulders for a second before pushing her away.

"U-Um," Gai stuttered. "It is okay, Tenten. Your old sensei will be just fine in a couple weeks. And then we can do one-thousand laps around Konoha! A-ha-ha…"

She cocked her head to the side cutely before doing the unthinkable. Gai's breath died in his throat as he watched her kneel down and rest her chin on the edge of his lap.

"Mo, Gai-Sensei," she purred. "you're so resilient and passionate. I know I don't say it often, but you're really magnificent."

"Tenten," her name an unwavering address as he found his sternness. "You must not."

"Must not what?" she asked, faking innocence.

Gai could only question—why? _Why_ was she doing this to him and not Neji, or Lee…he had been positive she had long harbored a thing for at least one of them. To think she would behave this way towards him was astounding. It made him want to encase himself in a concrete mold to restrain even the slightest bodily reaction.

"Let us eat, Tenten. We should not let this delicious food you prepared with all your love go col—mmf!"

The feel of Tenten's lips sent jolts of electricity through every vessel in his body. The way she kneaded his strong, brawny shoulders turned his brain to mush. He would consider it one of his greatest disgraces, but he let her kiss him for a good five seconds before shoving her back.

"No, Tenten," he said darkly. "No."

She ground her teeth together and put her hands on her hips, grinning bitterly. "I guess you know best."

He knew she both meant it and didn't mean it. Either way, it crushed him to watch his grown student storm out of his apartment.

.:.

Months after he had fully recovered from his injury, he squared off with the monster of the Hidden Mist, Hoshigaki Kisame, for the second time. Gai would never forget the horrific way he goaded him, not through insulting his nature or fighting techniques, but with a method that got him where it really hurt.

"How's that little girl of yours? The feisty one who likes to talk about cosmic equilibriums and such?" he asked, swinging his nightmarish sword at the jounin. "The one I made call me 'sensei.'"

Gai was not a mind-reader, but in that brief, shattering moment, he didn't need to be aware of the explicit pictures sliding through the film of Kisame's mind to instantly know everything the villain was implying. He blocked Samehada with the chain of his nunchaku, being almost completely taken by the undertoe of the Mist ninja's great colliding wave.

Gai had not thought it humanly possible to hate a friend of Tenten's this much for something as small as having a sunburn, nor had he ever felt a stronger urge to kill.

 _fin._

* * *

Eh, not exactly pleased with it as a whole. Just trying to exercise some more KisaTen love. Tell me if you liked it!


End file.
